Search

Review: Project Anastrophe: A Sci Fi Novel

Lavanya Karthik

Reviewer
Lavanya Karthik: Lavanya is from Mumbai, India and is a licensed
architect and consultant in environmental management. She lives in
Mumbai with her husband and six-year old daughter. She loves reading
and enjoys a diverse range of authors across genres.

The word Anastrophe, derives
from the Greek word for turning things around, and that is what
this ambitious novel envisions for a planet ravaged by environmental
degradation and the indiscriminate use of nuclear power.

The
story starts with Nick, a young palaeoastrophysicist on a fishing
trip in the present day, getting transported accidentally to the 25th
century. There he discovers that the widespread use of nuclear power
has led to dangerous levels of radiation that threaten mankind in the
future. Probes sent ahead into the 30th century, reveal that Earth
will also be engaged in a losing battle with an alien civilization
from a distant planet. Unable to return to his family, Nick
agrees to join a team of robots and humans that will travel across
time, and between planets, to confront the various threats to planet
Earth - this being Project Anastrophe.

The book then
charts the adventures of the team as they proceed on their mission.
They are repeatedly challenged in their efforts by a team sent by a
cartel of powerful industrialists from the 25th century, in a bid to
control fuel supplies and ensure their dominance over Earth and
Mars.

This is a lengthy and complex plot,
involving romance, time travel, action, hostile aliens, artificial
intelligence, and war. The prose is uneven at times, and does not
always do justice to the many action scenes throughout the book. It
even begins in the first person, before inexplicably moving to the
third person for the rest of the book, a device that left me
confused. The author's vision for the future of the planet does have
some interesting details - human settlements inside radiation-proof
biospheres, the complete absence of fossil fuel powered
transportation, universal access to humanoid robot servants. Another
interesting possibility explored is love between two such robots.
Some concepts I found troubling, however, such as mind
manipulation through the use of brain implants, strict limits on the
number of children allowed per family, and the reduction of children
to their DNA. I would have liked to see some discussion of the
ethical issues involved here. Further, I would have liked to
see some elaboration on concepts like new energies and fuels,
especially as we live in a world where nuclear power is itself
considered a cleaner alternative power source than conventional
fossil fuels.

Overall, a novel vision of
Earth's future, with a clear message for environmental protection.